Blood treatment centres, such as dialysis centres, are known from practice, where a large number of patients are treated on a daily basis with a limited number of treatment apparatuses, such as dialysis machines. In many of these centres it is thereby necessary to schedule treatments in a multi shift operation. In order to achieve a smooth operation and optimal treatment for each patient, it is important to adhere, as far as possible, to specific times, such as scheduled shift changeover times or the scheduled end time of any queued/upcoming treatment session. Further, adhering to these times can contribute to savings in the costs associated with waiting (shared) taxis.
In order to adhere to these times, it is necessary to know or recognise the individual urgency (which can also be expressed in terms of a “time buffer”) with which a specific patient having just arrived at the blood treatment centre should begin the upcoming treatment. It may also be necessary to know how urgently the treatment session of this patient should begin with respect to the urgency for other patients who are, likewise, also waiting to start their treatment sessions and must also be prepared for treatment by medical personnel, (for example by establishing vascular access, measuring body weight, etc.). Not all of the information necessary for recognising the individual urgency is known to medical personnel.